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We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of our Global Medical Cannabis Dashboard, a new interactive tool covering cannabis regulatory regimes in 112 countries (and counting) across the world. We reached out to our global network of healthcare regulatory specialist lawyers across 39 Baker McKenzie offices and 70+ of our correspondent firms and asked them to share their knowledge on this subject. Our resulting dashboard is unique in its scope and stretch and we invite you to explore it yourself. Our dashboard covers the overall feasibility of marketing medical cannabis, permissibility of medical cannabis in its raw form and…

As discussed in our previous post, Mexican lawmakers had until the end of October to issue regulations on cannabis. Nonetheless, and even though a preliminary draft bill for cannabis legalization was recently introduced in the Congress, the Mexican Senate now believes that additional time will be needed to reach an agreement on how cannabis should be regulated. On October 28, 2019, three days prior to the deadline, the Mexican Senate requested an extension from the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice. The extension was granted through an Accord dated October 31, 2019. Pursuant to the Accord, published on the Supreme Court’s…

Our prior post discussed the rapidly evolving cannabis regulatory environment in Mexico.  As the Supreme Court-ordered deadline for lawmakers to end cannabis prohibition approaches, Senators raced against the clock and unveiled last week a preliminary draft bill of a law that would regulate nearly the entire cannabis industry. The preliminary draft bill, titled the “Law for Cannabis Regulation”, comprises 74 articles and 11 transitory provisions that integrate various legislative proposals, including the prior leading bill from Mrs. Olga Sánchez Cordero (former Senator and Judge, and current Minister of Interior). Among other things, the Law for Cannabis Regulation: Allows (i) recreational,…

Cannabis legalization is proceeding in Mexico after several years of no action. In 2017, Mexico published an amendment to its General Health Law that allowed THC use for medical purposes and ordered the government to implement secondary regulations to support the new law. At first, nothing happened. However, in August 2019, the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico granted an amparo (constitutional) injunction to an underage child suffering from West syndrome, a condition that required CBD and THC dosing as part of his medical treatment. The Court determined that the child´s right to health services was violated because the Ministry…

Around the world, countries are discussing cannabis legalization for medical, research, and/or recreational use. Brazil is no different. On June 14th, 2019, ANVISA (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) published two public consultations related to cannabis, representing another step in the legalization process. The first consultation focuses on the technical and administrative requirements for cultivating cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes. According to the draft, the cultivation of the plant must, along with other access control guarantees, be done indoors and behind security doors accessible through biometrics. The draft also provides that the cultivation can only be done by legal entities…

Two recent rulings by the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico (“SCJN”) represent a significant milestone in legal cannabis consumption in Mexico. On October 31, 2018, the First Courtroom of the SCJN, under Minister Norma Lucía Piña Hernández, approved the Amparos en Revisión No. 547/2018 and 548/2018, which declared that the prohibition on recreational cannabis was unconstitutional. These two rulings are binding precedent, which all courts in Mexico must follow when ruling in similar cases. The rulings are ad personam, meaning that individuals seeking a judicial declaration related to cannabis must initiate an action in a competent court to obtain…